


Why Rire And Cain Should Get Married, The Essay

by nschimm



Category: Boyfriend to Death (Visual Novels)
Genre: ALL OF THIS IS LATE NIGHT THOUGHTS THAT I DRAGGED WITH ME THROUGH SEVERAL DAYS OF ANALYSIS, ALRIGHT MOTHERFUCKERS, ANYWAYS I HAVE TO FINISH THIS AND POST IT SOMEWHERE BEFORE I LOOSE MY GODDAMN MIND, BUT IT'S BEEN ON MY MIND SINCE I BEGAN TO SHIP IT, GET IT BECAUSE IT'S RIRE AND CAIN, I CALL THEM: RAIN, I'M TYPING FAST SO I DON'T HAVE TIME TO REGRET WHAT I SAY, IT'S CUTE OKAY SO FUCK YOU, IT'S IN MLA FORMAT ON THE GOOGLE DOC BUT OF COURSE THAT ISN'T GOING TO TRANSLATE INTO AO3'S LAYOUT, JUST KNOW THAT I WENT THE FULL MILE, LIKE I COULD TURN THIS IN TO MY ENGLISH TEACHER, M/M, MAYBE WEEKS, SO THAT MAKES. RAIN., THAT ANALYZES MY OTP AND WHY IT MIGHT ACTUALLY WORK, THIS IS LITERALLY AN ESSAY, i dunno
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-11
Updated: 2017-05-11
Packaged: 2018-10-30 13:55:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10878180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nschimm/pseuds/nschimm
Summary: This is essentially a literary analysis, not a fanfiction. Please don't expect anything in the form of storytelling or smut, or anything really. It is almost entirely a fan theory of mine.





	1. PREFACE

**Author's Note:**

> y'all i need to exercise my debate skills, hmu in the comments if you have differing opinions. let's have a nice, clean debate

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nTpsv9PNqo

 

The above link details my thought process as I have been putting together this essay. The gentleman in the light blue shirt and striped brown tie represents me, while the gentleman in the green sweater-vest represents anyone able and willing to listen to me rant about these two.

Put your seatbelts on, kids. This is going to be one wild ride, but I’m going to defend this ship with my life. I’ll admit, I haven’t gotten all of Sano’s endings - or all of Cain’s for that matter, so it’s entirely possible that I could be missing a significant chunk of plot. There is always the possibility that I am wrong. However, this is merely a collection of the facts I have witnessed through my personal experiences, as well as some speculation. I will do my best to keep the fan theories to a minimum, at least until I have finished laying out all of the evidence. In the words of Captain Jack Sparrow, “Stop blowing holes in my ship!” (Bruckheimer). Cue the Law and Order opening theme.


	2. The Essay

It is no secret that both of the Boyfriend to Death games are related to one another. Not only are they in the same universe, but the characters actually seem to have connections with each other. To back up this claim with the most obvious example, Ren is a minor character in the first game, but in the sequel, he has his very own route, elaborating on how he made his way out of the previous game’s “situation”. Of course he knows Lawrence, as Lawrence is the one who introduces Ren to the main character. But these are only gatobob’s characters, right? So there is a chance that it was only her that chose to connect the two games, making it a sequel of sorts. 

Oh, but this is not the case.

In one of Cain’s survival endings, he mentions a “Sano Kojimina”. My, doesn’t that sound familiar? Almost as if he was a character in the first game? But Cain did more than just mention him, he explained that he and Sano had an intimate relationship; a relationship that bordered on  _ love _ . It is safe to say that Cain feels affection, so he is not a full-blown sociopath, his empathy levels are just extremely low. This means that it is completely possible for him to feel this same “almost-love” emotion again, just as he does with the main character in a few of his survival endings. 

To add more evidence that the characters’ routes intertwine, there is an ending where Cain “saves you” from Vincent by murdering him before he has a chance to kill you. 

Unfortunately, darqx chose not to create her own route in the second game. However, if you find the teeny, tiny nugget that the cruel, sadistic ep planted in an almost impossible location, you’ll meet a new character named Damien. Continue a bit further and keep contacting him, and the game will give you access to yet another character. A character that belongs to neither gato nor to ep; nay, this character is darqx’s alone. The  pièce de résistance? To my knowledge, this character comes from the same story that Rire plays a part in.

Her character, A.E.D, appears to know Cain as an acquaintance, whereas Damien is his half-brother. If Cain seems to know .D - or at least who is - it seems safe to assume that darqx’s story  _ does _ intertwine with the BTD universe, to some extent. Seeing that the games correlate, and that darqx has a character from the  _ same original story _ that Rire is a part of, one can only assume that they have  _ at least _ heard of each other. And that is only the bare minimum.

Rire, being a demon  _ king _ , must have watchful eyes over his territory; to ensure economic stability, to watch safety of his citizens, and to look for any potential threats to his title. Cain resides in Hell after being kicked out by God.

Be wary - this is where the theories come into play.

Let’s work with hypotheticals. It is  _ possible _ that Cain could have moved into a region of Hell that Rire has domain over. Since this is a  _ possibility _ , the continuation of this essay will operate under the assumption that he does, in fact, move into an area that Rire controls.

So, Cain settles into a location that coincidentally falls within Rire’s controlled land. Based on the appearance of his house alone, seems to be incredibly wealthy. He was also kicked out by  _ God _ , capital G, for being dangerous. Another of his traits is that he is extremely powerful, wielding much authority and convincing others to follow his commands.

Economic influx? Check.

Danger to citizens? Check.

Threat to Rire’s title? Check.

But Rire knows very little about him at first. He may have heard rumors about a powerful visitor, but how often are rumors true? He dismisses them, of course, as he is a man of logic; but the name will come up over and over again - Cain did this, Cain did that- until he just  _ has _ to pay him a visit. In the game, Rire is incredibly suave, incredibly formal, and incredibly polite. It is clear that first impressions are vital him, and seeing that Cain could be a potential threat or ally, it is more than likely that Rire would set the arrangement up to make it so that this “Cain” character, whoever he might be, would feel as comfortable and at ease as possible. During the first meeting, it’d all be a facade of politeness and interest, but in reality, they would be sniffing each other out. 

Cain is a gentleman at first, too. He wouldn’t attempt to establish dominance unless he has a strong feeling that he could win. The entire situation would be formal and excessively polite, each trying to woo the other for their own slytherin-esque reasons. Shit wouldn’t go down the first time. They’d most likely leave decent impressions on one another.

One of Rire’s main motives for capturing and tormenting individuals is that he wishes to be entertained. He is constantly on the hunt for people he finds interesting - he uses that word repeatedly throughout the game. You know who could be quite entertaining? 

Someone who God, capital G, decided to banish from Heaven. Now  _ that _ sounds like an interesting person.

There is mutual curiosity. Eventually, of course, they will butt heads, but seeing as how Cain will save the MC if he believes they have value, and Rire will save them if he finds them interesting, it is not just possible but  _ probable _ that they would keep each other on their toes. It would be a delicate, fragile balancing act that they’d both see value in continuing, as long as each of them get to have their own fun. 

This relationship could be long term given the above conditions. Here is where Cain’s “almost-love” emotion comes back into play. Sano is cold and sadistic. So is Rire. Sano has demonic, supernatural abilities. So does Rire.

Dark hair. Glasses. Formality. They have much in common.

They are nowhere near the same person, but they have enough similarities to be Cain’s “type”. Cain’s relationship with Sano is a thing of the past. In the second game, he clearly embraces a new start. There is an ending or two where he takes care of the MC because he thoroughly enjoys their company. Who’s to say Rire wouldn’t fit the MC’s criteria? He is certainly attractive, funny, intelligent, and an overall joy to have around when he isn’t collecting the souls of mortals. 

As for Cain, he clearly makes the cut for Rire. He’s powerful, interesting, and shares the same “finer taste” as he does. 

They’re a match. As long as they get off on the right foot, they’re a match.

\--

Thank you for reading this far, I don’t think I have much else to say in terms of actual analysis, but I bring some concepts to the table:

  * Rire gets sick. Cain is a caretaker. Vice versa.
  * They take turns cooking for each other.
  * Make-up sex after big fights.
  * Rire texting Cain one day and Cain, being technologically illiterate, sends a garbled message that makes no sense. Rire spends the rest of the day trying to figure out what on earth he could have possibly been trying to say.
  * “Hey hun this mortal is getting boring. You want a turn?”
  * I just want them to be a thing that actually works out in a loving, romantic, not-entirely-hateful way alright.
  * Rire gets roses at the door. He gives Cain a slab of ichor in return.
  * That’s all I got, folks! Shoot me more ideas in the comments, if you want.




End file.
